As an affluent nation, we have a moral obligation to re-settle our fair share of the world's refugees.I want to state very clearly at the outset that our commitment to the resettlement of refugees remains a central part of our program. We continue to remain one of the highest resettlement countries in the world, and this is a record of which I, and the government are proud.
- Philip Ruddock,
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs,
Immigration
Reform: The Unfinished Agenda, Address at the National Press Club,
Canberra, 18 March 1998.
Australia is one of the very few countries which has a planned resettlement program for refugees - the few countries which have planned programs are: Australia, Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Norway. This year, we will again settle in Australia 12 000 people under our Humanitarian Program. This commitment, on a per capita basis, is second only to Canada and about double the rate of the United States. Our response is generous but, as I have said, our capacity is not unlimited.
- Philip Ruddock, Minister for Immigration and
Multicultural Affairs,
Australia's
Immigration Policies - An International Perspective,
Address at the Victorian Press Club, 26 March 1998.
As shown in the graph below, the Australian humanitarian program is not close to being the second most generous in the world.
The graph above indicates total number of refugees granted asylum per capita. Where did the minister get his figures? His statements are based on only one type of refugee admittance - the offshore program whereby people apply through the UNHCR abroad or an Australian Embassy to come to Australia as a refugee. The only countries which have an offshore program are listed in the table below. Most of these countries' offshore programs account for only a small proportion of their total humanitarian intake. For most countries, the "normal" humanitarian program is directed at people who come directly to the country and request asylum.
|
Country |
Size of
Offshore |
|
Canada |
45 |
|
Australia |
41 |
|
Norway |
33 |
|
United
States |
29 |
|
Sweden |
20 |
|
New
Zealand |
19 |
|
Finland |
13 |
|
Denmark |
9 |
|
Netherlands |
3 |
This table is taken from Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Philip Ruddock's press release "Minister Warns That Illegal Arrivals Threaten Australia's Humanitarian Program".
Information sources:
1. Refugee statistics - US Committee for Refugees http://www.refugees.org/
2. Population statistics - Population Reference Bureau
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